Saw IV: Ranking the Traps.

If we're being honest with each other, this is the most forgettable movie in the franchise. It's not the worst by any means but it is an awkward transition from the original trilogy to making movies to make money. Which is the best way to describe the rest of the original run of movies. Jigsaw and Spiral were made with a bit more love.

The traps in this movie are made by John Kramer and his latest revealed apprentice, Detective Mark Hoffman. He's a part of the police force and was originally introduced as a crime scene investigator. But, for the rest of the series, he's a detective.

This is also one of two Saw movies that have a black man in the leading narrative. This is pretty disappointing but I did like this character. It's the first movie where a decent cop is punished. The other is Spiral, which is a more refined look at some of the themes that were clumsily handled in the first run.

The Knife Chair.

This was John Kramer's first trap so I know that it's not going to be his best work. It is interesting to see how far he managed to come before his death.

The victim was Cecil, a drug addict that unintentionally caused the miscarriage of John's child when he fled from the drug clinic that Jill Tuck ran. This miscarriage ruined the marriage and part of John's life. He really put an unhealthy amount of pressure on the birth of this child. It's one thing to be upset. It's an entirely different thing to try and murder the person that was going through the

He actually got out of the trap without messing up his face too bad but he immediately ran towards John. He just stepped to the side for Cecil to fall into a ball of razor wire that does kill him.

The Spine Cutter.

It's still not entirely clear as to why Art was forced to go through two traps that were totlaly unrelated but he was also involved with the Mausoleum trap. There is the constant threat of the machine severing his spine and that's why he sets up all the traps for Rigg's game and also incriminates himself in the process.

His primary job is to oversee the Ice Block Trap and to wait until Rigg gets there. It's in everyone's best interest if Rigg does what is required of him.

The Scalping Seat.

Rigg enters a room and Jigsaw gives him the direct order to leave the woman in the chair alone. The trap wouldn't have started if he left her alone because it begins when he removes the mask from her face.

Her hair, which is trapped in the machine, slowly gets ripped out and this leads to her being scalped. Scalping is something that can be survived due to modern medicine. Blood loss and trauma were usually the reason that people pass from the unpleasant experience.

There's more going on here though, becuase she had been warned by Jigsaw that the cop saving her would submit evidence that would be used to arrest her. So, she tries to kill him. This is unusccessful and she dies.

The Ice Block Trap.

This trap is inspired by a seesaw.

On one side is Mark Hoffman, who is trapped to an electric chair.

On the other side is Detective Eric Matthews, from Saw II. He survived but he has a broken leg and is forced to stand on a block of ice with wire around his neck.

There are beater around the ice block, trying to melt it. The water will eventaully get to Mark Hoffman. Matthews will be hung (it seems) and Hoffman will be electrocuted. It all hinges on if Rigg manages not to come into the room. Which he does, killing everyone but Hoffman.

Matthews actually ends up getting his head crushed by ice blocks. Which seemed a little excessive but does lead to a really amazing view.

The Spike trap.

An abusive father and his abused wife are connected by long robs through their bodies. For her, the rods aren't going through anywhere that could kill her. For him though, when the rods are removed it will cause him to bleed out.

This trap fundamentally fails to understand why a lot of women remain in relationships with their abusers. It's usually because they're afraid to leave, not because they can't.

Before the trap, Rigg had gotten furious about the husband being abusive to his young daughter. All he had to do was hand Morgan the key to release herself. And he does.

The Mausoleum.

This trap is the one that opens the movie. One side is Art, who we see in the Spine Cutter trap, but right now his mouth is sewn shut. A chain connects him to the machine. On the other side is a larger man with his eyes sewn shut. They can't really communicate and it causes a lot of panic on both of their parts.

At first, you think that Trevor is going to win. He's stronger and dominates for a while, even throwing some tools at Art to try and knock him out. He unknowingly has the key attached to his shackle.

Art manages to bash the man's head and kills him in the trap. Considering that he immediately opens his mouth so that he could speak, he could have helped figure this out a lot earier if he had just bothered to do that.

It’s still a cool trap.

Rigg’s Trial.

In previous installments, Daniel Rigg was proven to not be the best at following directions. He has put saving other people over his own safety and not following the rules put in place by others. He is repeatedly told throughout the movie to follow the rules given to him by Jigsaw.

In Jigsaw's defense, he is pretty upfront about what he needs to do to make it through this test. There's no play on words, no hidden language. But Rigg doesn't like to see other people be hurt and has a hard time following directions when lives are on the line.

It's his fear that Detective Matthews and Detective Hoffman are going to die that results in him opening the door. Even though Matthews is begging for him to stop. He enters.

He kills Art, who he assumes is the person that set up the trap. Matthews shoots at Riggs, trying to stop the trap from going off. Then two ice blocks end up smashing Matthew's skull. Hoffman only survived because he is now the person running these traps. He is the new Jigsaw.

The Bedroom Trap.

There are plenty of people in the Saw franchise that don't really deserve to be in the traps. This is not one of those cases, he deserved everything that came his way.

Ivan is a violent rapist that took advantage of his position as a motel front desk worker.

He straps himself down so that each appendage is attached. A button is palced in each hand and all Rigg has to do is watch. If Ivan doesn't press the buttons, then his body is going to be ripped apart byt he straps. The buttons aren't going to do nothing, of course. When a button is pressed, a spike will be driven into his eyes. He only gets through one before time is up, and he gets torn apart.

Honestly, good.

This is by no means the worst of the franchise. It's just not particularly memorable, despite introducing us to the Jigsaw killer that will take us to The Final Chapter. I honestly don't think that Rigg deserved to be in this situation. He was impulsive but his actions show he had a good heart.